Sparco's still hand-built, in Italy

Incredible that in a global economy, Sparco can still do things the old world way.

I'm always fascinated by behind-the-scenes peeks at how things are made, and while there's nothing particularly revolutionary with the way that Sparco builds seats and race suits, it's still interesting to see where they're made. Sparco commissioned this piece to show off the core of their business: the assembly of race seats and fireproof suits, largely sewn by hand in the company facilities in Volpiano and Torino, Italy.

And it's interesting to find out that the company's expertise in assembling carbon fiber seat tubs has attracted the interest of OEMs—in fact, Bugatti apparently has Sparco build them carbon fiber spoilers and other parts. Take a look: